“Beach Life” is both simple and magnificent. Whether it is a bonefish flat or an inlet on a turning tide, water is intoxicating and formidable. The ocean changes constantly and offers the visitor many experiences from serenity to frightening and forceful storms. As a native Floridian, I have spent much of my life on the coast painting seascapes. It is an interesting subject as there are often only three very “simple” parts to your image, water, sand and sky. I tend to abstract these three components looking for the underlying colors, movement and reflections of the sky on the water.
Birds fascinate me. Their lightness and daredevil maneuvers delight me to no end. I can only imagine the feeling of freedom, moving through life in any direction without gravity interfering.
Raptors and the art of falconry are particularly interesting to me. Birds of prey dominate the sky and are some of the most magnificent creatures on earth. Falconers still hunt using red-tailed hawks, Harris’s hawks, peregrine falcon, cooper’s hawks and lanner falcons just to name a few.
Ravens and Crows also intrigue me. A few years ago, I started drawing them and was even more captivated by their mystique. In Native American Indian lore, the raven is considered a creature of metamorphosis and symbolizes change. It is thought to be a magic bird that can deliver messages from the cosmos to those that are worthy. It is also considered a trickster and is extremely intelligent.